Criminal Justice Colleges in Louisiana

Louisiana's public higher education system includes thirty universities and colleges. Your options for criminal justice colleges in Louisiana aren't limited to public schools; private and online institutions triple your options for Louisiana criminal justice schools. Wherever you're studying, you could head into New Orleans to catch a Saints or Hornets game or enjoy the state's outdoor attractions. There's a three out of five chance you'll have sunshine, but note that the city receives 64 inches of annual rainfall. Louisiana has received national attention from flooding due to hurricanes and tropical storms, which are frequent, especially along the coast. Just under one-third of Louisiana is farmland and about one in four residents lived in a rural area of Louisiana in 2009. The latest poverty statistics show that 18 percent of this state's residents are living in poverty. Earning a degree from one of the criminal justice colleges in Louisiana can help protect you against unemployment and prepare you for police jobs in Louisiana.

Police and Law Enforcement Jobs in Louisiana

Though Louisiana has only 65 sheriffs' offices throughout the state, they employ over 14,000 people, almost 10,000 of whom are sworn officers. There are also over 1,000 state police jobs and another 500 full-time non-sworn positions with state law enforcement agencies. You could also work at a correctional facility, which range from forty-nine residential juvenile detention facilities to two federal correctional complexes. One low-security federal facility in Oakdale houses over 2,000 male inmates, and another 1,500 male prisoners are incarcerated at a high-security facility in Pollock. In 2009, law enforcement professionals in Louisiana made just under $34,000 a year, which was around $8,000 less than the national mean, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Around 55,000 protective service professionals work in this state, which ranked 7th in the nation for violent crimes. 2008 data from the National Institute of Corrections show that the crime rate in Louisiana was 18 percent higher than the national average. According to FBI statistics, Louisiana had 620 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2009, which was much higher than the national average of 429.